It’s all there for the picking in Bevan Smith’s Oamaru garden.
It’s officially spring and despite a couple of icy blasts that have rolled in from the south over the last month, winter here has been relatively mild. That is great news for anyone who has a garden, as things
are beginning to move a bit faster than normal. The first spring greens are ready to go and make a welcome change from all those hardy winter ones. Coriander is coming on in gorgeous green waves, tender young fennel is surging ahead and a late planting of radicchio is just spectacular.
As fate would have it, all this coincides with the annual harvest of New Zealand scallops and the local crayfish season. What better way to celebrate spring than with stunning local seafood and fresh salad greens? Seared squid with a dipping sauce and Asian salad greens is as simple as it gets.
A bruschetta of crayfish mayonnaise sounds lavish but it’s so good you have to do it at least once.
Seared scallops, prosciutto and horseradish are all wonderful on their own but put together with some radicchio to cut through the richness, they’re just superb. Spring time: love it!
Seared scallops with prosciutto, radicchio and horseradish cream
Serves 2
6-10 small radicchio leaves
40ml olive oil
250-300g scallops
6 thin slices prosciutto
¼ cup horseradish cream (see below or use store-bought)
½ cup micro salad greens, optional
30ml extra virgin olive oil
- Scatter the radicchio over 2 plates. Heat olive oil in a large heavy-based frying pan over a very high heat until the oil is just starting to smoke. Lightly season scallops and sear for 20 seconds on one side before turning over and cooking for a further 15 seconds. Remove scallops from the pan to prevent them from over cooking and divide between two plates.
- Place the prosciutto on top and spoon over a generous amount of the horseradish cream. Finish with micro greens if using and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Serve immediately.
Horseradish cream
¼ cup cream
1 tsp lemon zest
4 Tbsp fresh grated horseradish
Place cream into a bowl and whisk to a soft peak. Add lemon zest, horseradish, stir to combine and season to taste. Keep in the fridge for up to 1 week.
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Bruschetta of crayfish mayonnaise with shaved fennel and salad greens
Serves 2
4 slices ciabatta
50ml olive oil
200g cooked crayfish, roughly chopped
2-3 Tbsp good quality mayonnaise
2 Tbsp finely chopped parsley
2 Tbsp finely chopped fennel tips
½ clove garlic, crushed
Zest of quarter of a lemon
1 small fennel bulb
2 cups mixed small leaf salad greens
¼ tsp whole grain mustard
Juice of ¼ of a lemon
- Heat oven to 200C. Place bread on a baking tray, drizzle with a little olive oil and toast in the oven until lightly coloured around the edges. Remove ciabatta from oven and place on to 2 plates.
- Place the crayfish, mayonnaise, herbs, garlic and lemon zest into a bowl and mix to combine. Season to taste with a little salt and pepper and spoon over the toast.
- Finely slice or shave the fennel into another bowl. Add the salad greens, mustard, lemon juice and remaining olive oil. Toss to combine and arrange on top of the crayfish. Serve immediately.
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Seared squid with chilli lime dipping sauce
Serves 4
500g squid tubes
80ml peanut oil
6 spring onions, finely sliced
2 cups coriander leaves
1½ cups mint leaves 2 cups mibuna*, or mustard greens
½ cup chilli lime dipping sauce (see below)
- Slice squid tubes in half, remove any internal membranes and score diagonally along the inner sides.
- Heat a little of the peanut oil in a large non-stick frying pan over a very high heat and, in batches, cook squid quickly, scored-side down, for 1 minute. Turn squid over and cook for a further 30 seconds. Season with salt and pepper, remove from pan and divide between 4 plates.
- Toss salad greens in a bowl to combine and serve on the side of the squid. Generously drizzle the dipping sauce over the squid and serve immediately.
Chilli lime dipping sauce
Makes ½ cup
1 tsp dried chilli flakes
1 tsp sea salt flakes
5-6 limes
3 Tbsp fish sauce
3 Tbsp caster sugar
Place chilli flakes and salt into a mortar and pestle and grind together until chilli flakes become a fine powder. Zest 2 limes before juicing them. all Add the lime, fish sauce and sugar and muddle until sugar is dissolved. Keeps for 1 week.
Bevan recommends
If fresh limes are not available just use 3-4 small meyer lemons instead.
*Mibuna is a Japanese green that grows in tight clusters. It has a light mustard flavour. See bite.co.nz/glossary for more.
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